Some folks think that sponsored posts are quite boring…or just simply selling out…but what if you really really love a product and would spend alot of your hardearned money on that item and would probably tell folks about it regardless of blogging? Because that is exactly how I feel about Kwikset SmartKey technology.
Most of you know that we are pulling a turtle’s pace in changing out our exterior door hardware. It’s slow. freaking. going. Our exterior door hardware of choice? The Kwikset Juno handset combo. You can get it here.
Why so slow? Well, there a ton of doors that lead from the inside to the outside. Let’s count…
Whew. FOURTEEN. Yes, you read that correctly. And that’s not even counting the double doors as two. That number just represents the doors that require deadbolt locks. I don’t even wanna think about the interior doors. Thinking about that makes me more tired than watching Biggest Loser (while I dine on the giant bowl of ice cream that sits on my belly). Yes, watching others workout makes me feel tired. I figure it’s like weight loss through osmosis. I am holding the remote control after all.
As some of you already know – we tackled the front door hardware and the basement door hardware (here). Four down. Ten to go.
And that is why I jumped. literally. I got both feet at least two and a half inches off the ground when the fine folks at Kwikset offered me a couple new sets of door hardware. The befores & afters are pretty boring – before the knobs are pretty mismatched and screaming for the 80’s to take them back….now they are just sweet dark chocolate 🙂
But you wanna know why I am really excited about these doorlocks? I mean, besides the obvious – they look better and keep our family safer? (which by the way, SmartKey deadbolts have passed the most stringent lock picking standards and offer ANSI/BHMA certified Grade 1 security. Grade 1 security is the highest level of tested residential security available in the industry…cool huh?!)
The reason I like them is because ALL fourteen of my future exterior dead bolts will be able to be opened with a single key. any key I designate. which I can change at any time. WITHOUT A LOCKSMITH. That means any loaned out keys become useless whenever I decide. I love this amount of POWER. It’s making my head larger as I type. Oh and I can chunk my current janitor’s ring to the curb. Not that there isn’t a certain amount of allure that comes with the jingle 🙂
I asked Jer why he loves them – and this is what he said – “they are Consumer Reports rated as a Best Buy”…(Jer is a C.R. junkie) and “when Katie loses her keys, I don’t have to sweat about waiting on 14 doors being rekeyed.” Thanks honey.
Do you have a product in your house that you just want to sing about from the rooftops? Anything that feels like it was made just for you? Anyone else wanna drool over my door locks with me? It’s really fun 🙂 And easy. Just sit, stare and drool. Occasionally you wipe.
Sponsored Post Legal Jargon: The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me to help promote their KwikSet Lock product. As part of this promotion, I received free products. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTCguidelines and social media engagement recommendations. Home Depot is on FACEBOOK! Home Depot is on TWITTER!
Used the exact same ones on my exteriors. They are awesome and well-priced. Slowly doing interior doors too (as well as hinges!) slow go.
We have been extremely slow at changing the door hardware on our house as well. We bought our house in September 2010 and 19 months later we have the same door knobs. Thankfully, the previous homebuyers purchased Kwikset when they built the house – because even though we HATE the gold door knobs, we have been able to make due because we simply just changed the key. We don’t have half as many doors as you and the hubs but we have four and that’s a lot of moolah. Also, thanks to Kwiket even with four doors we each only have one key, which is a dream come true!
-Dawn
I have the same door locks in the satin nickle finish and we are so simpatico: I love, love, love the fact that I can change all of the door locks in my home to open with any single key that I designate. I can’t stand a heavy key ring and this eliminates the excess bulk. I’m already a curvy woman, I don’t need any extra bulk in my pockets or anywhere else.
Question – Do you worry about bending the little reset key thingamajig? I think it looks really fragile and I need to find somewhere to stash it, but a kitchen utility drawer doesn’t seem like the safest place.
Well, I don’t – but only because we have so many already – so if one gets bent, we have several backups 🙂
xo – kb
The last post you did about your basement exterior doors with the keypad – my Jer read that one over my shoulder and thought it was the best idea ever – for me. I constantly misplace my keys so when Jeremy said he didn’t have to worry about changing 14 locks…Jerry would feel the same way. It just happens. We cannot be blamed for such trivial things. 😉
Emily
you will have a lot of doors to board up if there is ever a zombie attack.
wow, those locks sound awesome
There has been a lot of complaining on the interwebz lately about sponsored posts, hasn’t there?? But this is the kind of sponsored post I don’t mind/enjoy: when it’s a product that I can tell the blogger actually uses and really likes…and every other post is not a sponsored post about the same product 🙂
That said, as someone who misplaces her keys often (let’s not forget the time I lost them at school while my husband was deployed), these look pretty awesome! I will definitely keep them in mind for when we stop moving so often and finally settle down. AND those little touches like doorknobs really make a big difference, I think!
Katie I am so glad we think alike on this! It is a firm rule of mine that I MUST eat something awesome while watching Biggest Loser. It’s just way more entertaining to watch them work out while I’m eating ice cream out of the box. 😉
I love Kwikies too! We chose the Lido and the smart key for that same reason. We have only 2 exterior doors so it did not take long or that much moola.
looks great!
I keep checking in for more BUMP updates cause you’re too darn cute! Hope all is well with baby Bower #2!!!
Have it. Love it. And it’s really fun to say to my boyfriend “Don’t make me mad, I can beat you home and re-key the door in 30 seconds…and then throw your clothes on the front lawn”
Though I bought mine in Aug 2009 in the gold tone finish (not that I love it, it’s just that the whole exterior is already gold-accented) and it’s wearing pretty badly – the parts we touch aren’t shiny any more. time to get out the spray paint….
How do you change the key at any time, without a locksmith? If there’s a reset key – wouldn’t someone with the same knobs be able to simply use the reset in your locks and change it to their key to get in?
I know, right?! Good thing we have all that spare wood in the basement.
xo – kb
We have these and I love them too! Luckily for us we only have 3 and the previous owner did all the work!
Thank you Emily…we cannot. It’s technically not even our fault. I like to blame the baby.
xo – kb
There is a reset key that you have to insert with your current key. So like if I lost my key, then I would need Jeremy’s copy key + the reset key + whatever key I was going to reset the lock to. Does that make sense?
xo – kb
Looks great Katie. I love the finish of the new knobs against the painted doors that come out of your basement. I think the house will look fab with all the doors and trim painted that color eventually!
If I had more doors to worry about, I’d definitely be looking into these puppies 🙂
We have the same doorknobs on our exterior, same finish and all, and we love them! We have already had to use the key changie thing once and it works great. 🙂
What a perfectly timed post! I am currently replacing my door hardware and almost bought new ones yesterday, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to have 10 different keys. I’m so glad you recommended this. Now I know what to get! Thanks!
I really like your sponsored posts. Some people write sponsored posts and it sounds like a script, but yours are always genuine and you make the products really interesting. One I even came back later to find… the Black & Decker plant sensor thing. And you deserve to get something back for your blog from sponsored posts, when you have great numbers for readership! I wish I could get some, but I don’t write enough and therefore have next to nothing readership (at this time!)
Thanks so much for sharing things like this, we had our locks changed when we moved in and got a lever style doorknob, but this may move me to change it up! Having one key that you can change at will would be a great timesaver.
Katie…this has nothing to do with your post, but when I was driving to work today, I saw a sign for a Martial Arts Academy. If you buy your child a membership there, you get FREE BACON. It’s in Wisconsin…but maybe Will could have some kind of long distance membership? 🙂
Did you ever announce the winner to your kwikset giveaway in December? I never saw it posted.
I agree that the Kwikset locks are great. My husband and I recently bought a foreclosed house that had an interesting arrangement of locks and we only had one key that would work with the front door. We went with one of the keypad deadbolt for our front door and another smartkey lock in the back. So far we love them and they were worth the extra cost upfront. It’s so nice to run out the door and not have to worry about forgetting your key!
Something interesting that we found when installing the new locks was that our doors didn’t have the usual cutout for a faceplate on the door side. After returning a lock set because we thought they wouldn’t work a employee at home depot told us that the plate part twist off. Then you just have to get another ring to center the deadbolt in the door. We bought a kit similar to this one just for the silver ring but you may be able to just buy the ring some where else (http://www.homedepot.com/Doors-Windows-Door-Locks/Kwikset/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbriaZur/R-202099302/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051)
Only you could make me love a sponsored post! Our house was a rental for 30 years, yes, 30. So this post is a good reminder to me to get my butt in gear and update the doors accordingly.
I have those too (in brushed nickel) and have been soooo happy with them do far. Man, I was complaining about needing 5 sets, I feel bad for you and your 14 exterior doors!
I will forever sing from the rooftops about Clorox wipes. (Or the generic verions!) These have made cleaning the bathroom so much easier and so less gross! They probably aren’t the most eco-friendly, but I’ll admit that when I’m cleaning the bathroom, I’m not thinking so much about that. I’d write an unsponsored post about Clorox wipes any day. 🙂
P.S. Do you have any plans in the works for your living room light fixture, or are you leaving it as is? It look SOOOO high up!
WHOA! That’s hilarious and awesome! I wonder if it helped improve their membership numbers!
xo – kb
When you need to reset a new key, can you use ANY key or do you have to buy a special one? For example, can I just use a key I already have and have it reset so it works for these locks?
Yup – any key. But remember that you need the current working key and the little smartkey that comes with the doorlock.
xo – kb
I think right now it is staying put. We are eventually gonna switch it out and send this one back to the 90’s but for now it helps keep things light and bright in that room.
xo – kb
Yup! Got it! That’s so cool. Does anyone think this is almost a little futuristic? No? Just me? haha
Kwikset locks are awesome! We replaced all of our locks with these when we moved into our new place! My husband loves how high their safety rating is, especially since he travels a decent amount for work.
I have had this window open for a while and everyutime i look at the tab..I read I love “Kiwis” and its making this preggo woman crave kiwi majorly. I need Kiwis RIGHT NOW.
Oh btw..I am right there with you on your pregnancy..my EDD is Nov13..this is my first 🙂
We’ve used these for a couple years and they’ve just started to crash and burn. The mechanism inside slips and then no key will work. A screwdriver needs to be jammed into the lockset, a couple twists and you’re in. Then the entire lockset needs to be replaced. Not fun.
Angelina – I would definitely contact the service people at Kwikset because that doesn’t sound normal. They are really helpful so maybe they can tell you if this is a fluke.
xo – kb
“Fifty for a Kwikie” – I love the Home Depot. They have great products and competitive prices. I’ve never thought of using their online website, but I guess I should 🙂
Perfect! Thanks. 🙂
That is really neat about the key reseting! Im also glad to know that someone else eats ice cream while watching biggest loser. Sometimes I eat cereal. Ok all my comments tonight are about food.